Oct
23
The Arts Education Forum is presented by the Los Angeles County Arts Education Collective Funders Council and SoCal Grantmakers. These Forums examine the powerful roles arts education can play in youth, community, and economic development in our region. They also offer space to discuss and refine strategies that promote the growth, healing, and success of young people, particularly those from communities that have been historically excluded or precluded from investments in arts and arts learning. This includes Black, Indigenous, and other youth of color, current or former foster youth, youth who are currently or formerly homeless, impacted by the justice system, LGBTQ+, migrants, English language learners, living in poverty, in rural areas, and/or with disabilities.
The LA County Arts Education Collective (Arts Ed Collective) is the regional initiative dedicated to making the arts a core part of every child's growth and development. Established in 2002 by the LA County Board of Supervisors, the Arts Ed Collective is coordinated by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture and is implemented in partnership with 13 other County agencies, 74 school districts, five charter school networks, and hundreds of community-based organizations, teaching artists, educators, grantmakers, and advocates. Over its 22-year history, it has earned recognition as a national model of collective impact in arts education.
In October 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted the Arts for All Children, Youth, and Families: Los Angeles County’s New Regional Blueprint for Arts Education (Arts Ed Blueprint) which puts forward a vision of expanding arts education in schools, after school, and in communities. It is both an aspirational policy statement and a roadmap for practitioners and leaders working collectively to advance youth development across LA County over the next decade.
The Arts Ed Collective Funders Council, active since 2004, offers a roundtable for foundation and corporate grantmakers to share knowledge, develop strategy, and provide fiscal oversight of shared investments in arts education in the County. Funders Council members pool resources, track and respond to trends in arts and education, and help determine how to allocate funds to advance the goals of the Arts Ed Blueprint.